THE PRESIDENT: I have just had a remarkable discussion with some of my
fellow citizens who have dedicated their lives to making sure our troops
know that this country supports them as they help secure our country and
spread freedom.

One of the amazing things about America is that people are desirous of
coming together to support a neighbor in need. And we've got kids who
are overseas defending this country, and we've got people at this table
who are supporting their families, their loved ones, and most
importantly, the troops that are in harm's way.

There's an organization called America Supports You. I would hope my
fellow citizens would like on the webpage, AmericaSupportsYou.mil, to
determine how you can help support our troops if you so desire. I would
urge Americans to do that, and around the table are leaders of the
different organizations that make up this umbrella group. We've heard
from people that are helping families of the wounded. We're talking to
people who are using their position in different fields, like the
entertainment field, to go over and provide hope for our troops. We're
talking to moms and wives of those who have volunteered to serve our
country.

But I want to thank you all for joining us, and thank you for serving
your country. I told the folks here that the politics in Washington can
be rough. But make no mistake about it, I am determined to succeed.
And we will implement a plan to achieve victory, which is necessary, and
that they need to tell the troops that no matter how tough it looks here
in the nation's capital, that I know we're doing the right thing, and I
know we will win.

I'll take a couple of questions. Terry.

Q Mr. President, General Casey saw you on Friday, and it's been
reported that he's talked about withdrawing two brigades from Iraq by
this year. Can you tell us what he recommended to you?

THE PRESIDENT: First of all, I did meet with General Casey, and I met
with him because it's very important for me, as well as Secretary
Rumsfeld, to meet with our commander on the ground. I've told the
American people our commanders will be making the decisions as to how to
achieve victory, and General Casey, of course, is the lead person. So
we had a good visit with him.

And we talked about a lot of things. The first thing we talked about
was the joint operations with the Iraqi forces to secure Baghdad and how
that's going. We talked about the actions we're taking in Ramadi. The
coalition is in the lead in Ramadi, and we're trying to make sure Ramadi
does not become a safe haven for al Qaeda. And so he explained to me
the tactics on the ground, what we're doing to secure that city and to
run the al Qaeda-types out.

We talked about the Iraqi training mission. And as you well know, our
standards are, as Iraqis stand up, the coalition will be able to stand
down. We talked about that kind of progress.

But in terms of our troop presence there, that decision will be made by
General Casey, as well as the sovereign government of Iraq, based upon
conditions on the ground. And one of the things that General Casey
assured me of is that, whatever recommendation he makes, it will be
aimed toward achieving victory. And that's what we want. And victory
means a free government that is able to sustain itself, defend itself;
it's a government that will be an ally in the war on terror. It's a
government that will be able to fight off al Qaeda and its desires to
have a safe haven.

And so I did visit with General Casey, and I came away once again with
my trust in that man. I've told the people here around the table that
the decisions that I will make will be based upon the recommendations of
people like General George Casey.

Toby.

Q Mr. President, how much closer do you believe North Korea is to
launching the long-range missile, and how concerned are you about this?
What if they just launch a satellite --

THE PRESIDENT: Toby, I have said that the North Koreans should notify
the world of their intentions, what they have on top of that vehicle and
what are their intentions. We have not heard from the North Koreans, so
I can't tell you what their intentions are. I have made clear to our
partners on this issue -- that would be Japan and South Korea and China
and Russia -- that we need to send a focused message to the North
Koreans in that this launch is provocative. And I was pleased to hear
that the Chinese have delivered that message to the North Koreans, and
we would hope that the leader in North Korea listened to the Chinese.

So we don't know. We don't know. That's part of the problem. It's a
nontransparent society that ought to be sharing its intentions with the
rest of the world.

Hutch.

Q I know you are not planning to see Al Gore's new movie, but do you
agree with the premise that global warming is a real and significant
threat to the planet that requires action --

THE PRESIDENT: I think -- I have said consistently that global warming
is a serious problem. There's a debate over whether it's manmade or
naturally caused; we ought to get beyond that debate and start
implementing the technologies necessary to enable us to achieve a couple
of big objectives -- one, be good stewards of the environment; two,
become less dependent on foreign sources of oil for economic reasons and
for national security reasons.

That's why we're pressing for clean coal technology. That's why the
hydrogen initiative is robust. In other words, we want our children
being able to drive cars not fueled by gasoline, but by hydrogen.
That's why I've been a strong advocate of ethanol as an alternative
source of fuel to run our cars. I strongly believe that we ought to be
developing safe nuclear power. The truth of the matter is if this
country wants to get rid of its greenhouse gases we've got to have the
nuclear power industry be vibrant and viable. And so I believe in --
and I've got a plan to be able to deal with greenhouse gases.

April.

Q Mr. President, what are you doing to ensure that the Voting Rights
Act is reauthorized by the midterm elections, as you're saying that's
one of your top priorities? And also, do you support foreign ballots --
foreign language ballots?

THE PRESIDENT: I am working very carefully with members of Congress to
implement that which I said when I signed the proclamation for Rosa
Parks, is I want this Voting Rights Act extended. And so we're working
with members of the United States Congress to see if we can't get it
done.

Q Sir, several news organizations have reported about a program that
allows the administration to look into the bank records of certain
suspected terrorists. My questions are twofold: One, why have you not
gone to Congress to ask for authorization for this program, five years
after it started? And two, with respect, if neither the courts, nor the
legislature is allowed to know about these programs, how can you feel
confident the checks and balances system works?

THE PRESIDENT: Congress was briefed. And what we did was fully
authorized under the law. And the disclosure of this program is
disgraceful. We're at war with a bunch of people who want to hurt the
United States of America, and for people to leak that program, and for a
newspaper to publish it does great harm to the United States of America.
What we were doing was the right thing. Congress was aware of it, and
we were within the law to do so.

The American people expect this government to protect our constitutional
liberties and, at the same time, make sure we understand what the
terrorists are trying to do. The 9/11 Commission recommended that the
government be robust in tracing money. If you want to figure out what
the terrorists are doing, you try to follow their money. And that's
exactly what we're doing. And the fact that a newspaper disclosed it
makes it harder to win this war on terror.